The Deceiver
by Tashe Dangerous Eyes
Summary: Mulder goes almost insane when Scully gets kidnapped by a spycopath who starts sending her back piece by piece.


The Deceiver ****

The Deceiver

by: Tashe "Dangerous Eyes"

[tashe075@yahoo.com][1]

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. You know who they are and you know to whom do they belong.

Rating: PG13 for language and some intense stuff.

Category: Angst and Adventure. M&S UST

Summary: Mulder goes practically insane when his partner gets kidnapped 

by a psychopath who starts sending her back piece by piece. It is a story of horror, revenge and a few surprises. 

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****

The Deceiver 

Alexandria Street 

Tuesday, 6:37am

The boy entered the apartment building smiling. He couldn't believe his luck. It wasn't 7am yet and he already had twenty dollars in his pocket. The easiest twenty dollars that he ever made too. * Not bad for a thirteen years old * he thought. 

He was on his way to school when a man approached him almost making him run out of fright, but the $20 bill he waved on his face made him hold his ground. It wasn't one of those scar face kind of looking guys, he supposed that some women could even find him attractive. It was his eyes, the way he looked at him, the eyes of a mad man.

"Hey boy...", the man said putting a hand on the boy's shoulder startling him. "...want to make twenty dollars?".

"Maybe." The boy answered defiant trying to hide his nervousness. The man gazed at him amused with the boy's attitude.

"Ok then. The only thing you have to do is go inside that building and deliver this letter to the apartment number written on the envelope." He said holding the white envelope marked "Personal" in front of the boy's face for him to see and then put it on his shirt pocket along with the $20 bill. The boy looked at him suspicious. 

"Is there a problem?"

"No, ...I'm going." He headed for the building feeling the intense eyes of the stranger on him. 

The elevator doors opened and he stepped out wandering in the hall. He took the envelope out of his pocket and started looking for the right door. Finding it, he slipped the envelope under the door. "Well, Mr. 42, there you go." Back on the street he looked around looking for the man that had given him the letter, but he was gone. Relieved, he smiled padding his shirt pocket where the money was and continued his way to school.

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Mulder's apartment

Tuesday, 6:49am

Mulder was getting ready to go to work. He's been ready to go since 4 am, since the nightmare woke him up and wouldn't let him go back to sleep. He was never late for work. Some would say, if they ever dare to say something nice about him, that it was due to his sense of responsibility, and he was responsible, but the truth was that it was due to the damn insomnia which took turns with the nightmares keeping him awake and miserable. Always the first to arrive, always the last to leave and never looking forward to going home after work. What for, there was no one waiting for him there or anything for that matter. 

Mulder took his gun and his coat and walked towards the door. Seeing the white envelope he increased his pace, reaching it within seconds. He picked it up. "Personal" he whispered. He opened the letter and found a note. Enclosed along with it a strand of red hair. To Fox Mulder red hair only meant one thing, Dana Scully, but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions although there was panic already threatening to overtake him. He turned his attention to the note.

'Nice color, nice smell. Treasure it. It's better to have a part of her than none of her at all. And Agent Mulder, this is just the beginning'. 

Mulder rushed to the phone. He needed to call her. He needed to know that she was fine, that this was just someone's sick joke. The phone rang about three times before the machine picked it up. "Scully pick up the phone. Scully are you there? Pick up the phone." Came his words a little more desperate than he intended, but after all the times that he has gone through this he couldn't help himself. * I'm going over there, have to make sure * Mulder took the envelope with him and left. On the car Mulder tried Scully's cellular, again no answer. Now he was trying the office, maybe this was one of those rare times when Scully beat him to work but the phone just kept on ringing until he finally gave up. 

Mulder saw Scully's car parked in front of her building long before he reached the building himself. His car stopped but not before leaving the tires marked on the pavement attracting the attention of the few people that were around. They gazed at the man as he ran and disappeared through the doors of the quiet building. Mulder stood in front of Scully's door already gun in hand. It only took him a second to notice that the lock had been forced. He turned the knob very slowly and found the door unlocked. He peeked inside. It was silent. He waited a second and then pushed the door totally ajar. Seeing no one, he proceeded to search the apartment taking as much precautions as his preoccupation for Scully allowed him to. He saw something out of the corner of his eye that caught his attention. He turned his head and saw a lamp that had fallen on the floor along with the table on which it had been. Mulder moved closer, among the pieces of the broken lamp was Scully's gun. After taking a quick look around the apartment looking for any other sign of struggle, Mulder wasted not a second more and called the police.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FBI Headquarters

The Basement

The day before

7:05pm

Scully was gathering her things to go home. She had wanted to do so since she arrived that morning, not a rare feeling when you know the only thing that you are going to be doing all day is paperwork. Unless of course you get saved by the bell, which in her case meant going 

to who knows where to investigate God only knows what kind of case involving who knows what kind of whatever, and to top it all up with you know who. * Speaking of the devil... * Scully looked at Mulder who was sitting at his desk with his eyes glued to a report.

"Mulder, I have a proposition for you." Scully said to him with a somewhat playful voice. Mulder looked at her with a devilish smile.

"You are on Scully. Your apartment or mine?"

"Mine." came her reply. Mulder's jaw dropped. * Boy, I didn't see that one coming. She's pulling my leg, right? I mean, she has to be. Or isn't she? * Scully couldn't help smiling at the mental turbulence that she had caused on her partner's mind. He finally closed his mouth and tried to talk but Scully beat him to it.

"Let me help you jump out of your conclusion Mulder. My "actual" proposition is that you come to my place and we'll have pizza and some beer to try and forget that this awful day of paperwork ever happened but most importantly that it's going to repeat itself tomorrow." 

"As good as that sounds Scully, Skinner wants this report first thing in the morning, meaning that I have to finish it tonight." There was obvious disappointment in his voice. 

"Well Mulder, after all these years of my Mulder-do-the-paperwork-on-time lectures that evidently were ignored there's only one thing left for me to tell you...", Mulder waited for her to finish expectantly. "...your loss. Good night Mulder." And with that she went out the door.

"Don't I know it." Mulder said after being sure she was out of earshot. 

Scully's apartment

Tuesday 1:32am

The fact that Mulder couldn't make it that didn't stop her 

from going ahead with her plans of eating pizza, drinking beer and to complete the package a warm bath to relax her body as well as her mind. Soon she was on her bed and asleep before eleven. 

The man was sitting in his car outside her building a few houses down the street waiting patiently for her to go to sleep. And patience was something that he had enough of, after all, it had taken him a long time to plan this and he was not about to screw anything up for being impatient. No, he would take the time to do things right or he will have no satisfaction. But now he had waited long enough, it was time. He checked the gun one more time, it was a tranquilizer gun, he needed her alive. 

Now in front of her door he tried to pick the lock as quietly as he could. * Damn it, I used to be so good at this, at a lot of things * It took him longer than he expected to open the door, leaving evidence of his lack of ability and failing to do so in absolute silence. He could hear her coming from the bedroom, armed no doubt. * Damn * He cursed mentally moving to a dark corner by the door hoping that it would shaded him long enough. * Just a few seconds, it's all I need *.

Scully was shifting in her bed when she heard a noise. She laid still for a while waiting for a second chance to make it out and she did. Someone was trying to get inside her apartment. As quietly as she could she got out of the bed grabbing her gun from the night table and cautiously walked down the hall to her living room. She looked around and saw nothing. Having waited a few seconds, she heard nothing either. 

* Am I hearing things? I'm not that paranoid...yet * Finally, she moved again. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. Looking at it she saw some kind of dart. Realizing what was happening she raised 

her gun which was growing heavy rapidly, and pointed it at the blur that appeared in front of her, but her arm fell by her side dropping the gun, her legs surrendered under her and she knocked a table and the lamp on it to the floor as she fell. 

"Sleep now agent Scully. This is just the beginning." Was the last thing she heard before the darkness claimed her completely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A.D. Skinner's office

Tuesday, 8:27am

"Do we have any suspects on this case?" Assistant Director Walter Skinner asked while looking at the preliminary report that Mulder had given him, but the young agent was lost in his thoughts and didn't answer. The A.D. lifted his head and looked at him.

"Agent Mulder..?"

"Ah,..no Sir, not just yet." He finally answered absent mindedly. 

"What is it?, What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about the note. It's obvious that it won't be the last we'll receive and that's what worries me." Mulder said in a monotone.

"Well agent Mulder, we are all worry. I suggest you go to your office and start working on a list of suspects. Look on your old cases, on whatever case she might've worked on before the X Files...."

"I already started. I also sent someone to my apartment building to get the tape from the surveillance camera. Whoever delivered the letter must be in it."

"Good." Skinner was surprised at how well Mulder was handling the situation despite the danger that his partner was in. Then, like an after thought, Skinner thought about another possible place where they could find a suspect. * I guess there's no way of asking this without being awkward * "Mulder, what about a...boyfriend?" And an awkward moment it was. It's funny how life has given him the opportunity to ask something so personal during the worst situation about someone that was important to him, perhaps more than she was supposed to be.

"She is not seeing anyone..."

"That you know of."

"No, I know so." The fact was present in his mind all the time. The fact that Dana Scully, just like him or better yet because of him, didn't have a life outside the X Files. He felt guilty about it sometimes, but rejoiced much more knowing that although their relationship was not physical, the ties binding them were stronger than anything, that they did feel love for each other, a very special love and that made her so much his as he was hers. * She's kind of taken, Sir * Afraid that his expression would give away his line of thought Mulder changed the subject almost abruptly. "I sent the strand of hair to the lab along with some that I picked up on Scully's apartment for them to compare the DNA. I want to make sure that the hair belongs to her."

"Let's hope that the team that is working on her apartment can come up with a fingerprint or any other clue that can lead us to this man." The Assistant Director said with his usual seriousness and with a nod of his head, dismissed Mulder who left with the only thing that mattered the most to him on his mind, finding his partner. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mulder's office 

Tuesday, 1:23pm

Mulder was back at it, the paperwork, surrounded by files of all kinds. But this time was different. He wasn't trying to spare himself of yet another ass chewing courtesy of his boss, this time he was trying to find a clue on who had taken Scully. The guy didn't call to ask for ransom, he didn't kill her in her apartment, * thank God * he just took her and then sent him a note. He was definitely dealing with the worst kind of scum. Not the kind that wants to make some money fast, stupid enough to take the risk involved in kidnapping an FBI agent, not the kind that wants revenge and shoots to kill at the first opportunity they 

can get, but sloppy enough to give their victims a chance to defense themselves. No, he was dealing with one of those who take their time to think of a plan and then they rethink it even more; one of those that made a crusade out of a simple and sometimes stupid reason to cause pain, to kill. He was dealing with a psychopath, and he had Scully. Just the thought of what he might be doing to her made him sick, the thought of her wishing him to find her and take her away from the pain when he was here sitting at his desk not knowing where to look made him almost insane. The phone rang saving him from the not so helpful line of

thought. "Yeah, Mulder."

"Agent Mulder, this is Sgt. Davis. The results of the search we did on agent Scully's apartment were negative. We did find three sets of fingerprints but they belong to her, her mother and you and although he forced the lock he had to have been wearing gloves. No other clues were found. I'm sorry but I think this was a dead end." The sergeant said somewhat sad. He was the one Mulder left in charge of the investigation at Scully's place and he remembered how desperate Mulder was.

"Thank you Sgt. Davis." Sgt. Davis couldn't tell if Mulder was sad or mad.

"If you need anything else call me." Silence. "Don't worry, you'll find her." He tried again.

"Yeah, thanks." He said simply and hung up. 

Another fruitless hour passed when the phone rang again. "Agent Mulder, this is agent Sanders from the lab. We finished the analysis on the hair samples you brought us and they match. It is Agent Scully's hair." 

"Are you absolutely sure?" Mulder asked hoping against hope.

"I'm afraid I am."

"Thanks." He said not meaning it. He wanted good news not disappointing ones. His hands trapped his face on a tight grip, fighting desperation, forcing himself to think, but he already knew what to do. Mulder grabbed the surveillance tape from his desk and inserted it in the VCR. He had had it for a while now but he decided to do one thing at a time, that 

way he could make sure not to miss anything. Between the files and the surveillance tape he had a long day ahead of him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere in Virginia

Wednesday, 2:30 am

The woman's still form was on the bed totally unaware of the fate she was about to face, unable to defend herself, but perhaps it was better this way. The man approached her without even looking at her, his eyes were focused on the knife. It was a hunter's knife and as sharp as they come. He was looking at it with a passion only mirrored by those in love. Now he was caressing his own neck with the blade, testing the feel of it, fearless. He took one of her hands and kissed the fingertips one by one, then, he grabbed the index finger firmly and with the smooth and quick movement of an expert, cut the finger right off her hand. "Just a few final touches and you'll be wrapped in that pretty box." he said to the bloody finger that he was holding in front of his face and then put it down beside the little box which lid was adorned with a red ribbon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A.D. Skinner's Office

Wednesday, 7:57 am

Walter Skinner was greeted by his secretary as soon as she saw him. It was something she did every day, but this time she needed to add that agent Mulder, "spookier" than ever, had almost forced his way into the Assistant Director's office and she wasn't quite sure how her boss, the man with the thunder voice and who never smiled was going to take it. She tried to speak when he had finished saying his "good morning" to her but he didn't pause.

"Please, get me agent Mulder on the phone." His thunder voice demanded.

"Agent Mulder is already in your office...sir." Skinner looked at her accusingly. "I'm sorry sir but agent Mulder wouldn't wait out here. He was... he looked like..."

"It's ok, I'll deal with him." Entering his office he spotted Mulder immediately, sitting in a posture that was less than professional. "Well, my secretary was right, you look like hell."

"She said that?"

"She would have, eventually, if I had given her the time. When was the last time you slept?"

"I can't sleep."

"Agent Mulder..."

"I can't afford to sleep, I can't afford to waste time," Pause. In a lower tone "Not when Scully's time might be running out."

"Alright, care to update me then?"

"I spent hours watching the surveillance video tape. So far I've found seven people that are not residents of the building, or at least I don't remember seeing them before, but I have narrowed it down to three that entered the building before 7 am. That was about the time that I received the note." 

"Have you been able to identify these people?"

"Not yet. I just left the tape on the lab. They are going to make photos out of the footage to facilitate the investigation." Mulder raised from the chair and started walking to the door. "I'll let you know if I find something." 

"No agent Mulder." Skinner said stopping him on his track. "This may take a while. Go home, take a shower and eat something. You won't be able to help her if you are not able to stand." Mulder looked defeated. He couldn't deny the fact that he'd been ignoring his stomach for God knows how long and that he could definitely use a shower. He decided he needed to recharge his batteries and with a nod to his superior he left.

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The suspect was completely surrounded with no way out. He wasn't scared, he was indeed enjoying the burst of adrenaline brought up upon him by the imminent confrontation. After all the killings, the mutilations and his ability to escape, one of those damn FBI agents had finally profiled him well enough to trap him like this. But he wouldn't go without a fight. Some of them he could see, the others he could only imagine trying to sneak up on him.

"Hey, I'm going in. Cover me." 

"No. I got it. I'll get him from behind." The agent moved out of cover and started towards the suspect.

"No. Damn it." He too moved out of cover forced to cover the rookie's back. They were on plain view now. 

"You bastards." The killer opened fire making them duck for cover again. One of them, not fast enough, caught a bullet on his back. The killer laughed at his cry of pain.

"Freeze, FBI." The other agent came from behind him.

"Go to hell." He turned around rising the gun to take a shot but the agent fired first.

"Aaaaahhhhh!"

The man woke up with a start. He was disoriented for a moment not recognizing his surroundings. He looked around taking in the view. Then he remembered, a malicious grin forming on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mulder's car was on the same spot he had left it almost two days ago. He'd go home to take a shower and eat something as quickly as he could. The faster he finished the faster he could go back to work on Scully's case. He got his keys out of his pocket but never inserted them on the lock. The door was already open and somebody had left something on the passenger seat. The little box dressed like a present promised to change the meaning of giving forever. Mulder took the box with trembling hands, he shut his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Then he opened it. "Oh my God" Mulder shut the door with fury and almost ran back into the building unaware of the man sitting in a car watching with 

satisfaction his suffering. 

Walter Skinner entered the lab and walked towards Mulder. "Agent Mulder, is it hers?" Mulder didn't answer. The Assistant Director looked at him for a while noticing that the panicked countenance that had accompanied his agent ever since his partner disappeared had intensified 

remarkably. He felt sorry for him. "Agent Mulder?" Mulder finally looked at him, but there wasn't recognition in his eyes.

Agent Sanders approached the men acknowledging the presence of the A.D. with a nod. "I ran the fingerprint from the a..." He couldn't bring himself to say it, considering how sensitive the case was for the agent in front of him. "I ran it through the FBI computer records and I'm sorry to say ..."

"It's Scully's, isn't it?" Mulder cut him off. 

"Yes, I'm sorry agent." Mulder head for the door without even looking at him. 

"Agent Mulder, where are you going?" The A.D. asked less than demanding.

"To follow the only lead I have. I'm going to find who delivered that letter, it might be her only chance." He took a moment to think. "I have to prep my phone to trace the call."

"What do you mean? What...."

"He's changing the pattern. First my place, then the parking lot, only this time no note. Every time he...communicates he does it differently."

"But what makes you so sure he'll call?"

"He wants to check up on the damage he is causing. I'm going to find this son of a bitch." Mulder said with a deadly tone heading for the door once again. 

"What about Mrs. Scully?" Mulder turned back looking incredulously at his boss.

"If you want to call her and tell her that her daughter has been kidnapped and that the kidnapper is returning her one piece at a time be my guest. I would rather tell her when I have some hope to offer along with it or at least..." His voice faded, these were words that he didn't want to say, not even to think of. "...or at least a body to put 

to rest." He gave his boss a last defiant look and left.

"Agent Sanders?"

"Sir."

"What about the box? Were there any fingerprints on it or something that can give us a clue?"

"No sir. This guy it's been very careful. " Skinner said nothing else and left. Agent Sanders took a recipient from under one of the microscopes and put it in the lab's freezer. His gaze fell on the finger that he had storaged there moments before and he thought of the woman that it belonged to. He knew her more like a fellow scientist than a fellow agent, always perfect looking, with that undisturbed expression even when others called her 'Mrs. Spooky'. He smiled sadly and closed the freezer door; work was waiting for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere in Virginia

Wednesday, noon

Dana Scully opened her eyes slowly trying to fight the drugged state in which she was. The sunlight that slipped through the closed curtains, though not much, still managed to hurt her eyes. The little pain she could feel somewhere in her body let her know that she was still alive. Her memory was all over the map, she couldn't remember the circumstances that had brought her here, wherever here was, or who had brought her to this place for that matter, but even more important what for and where was Mulder.

"Now, what are we doing awake?" The man asked her with the tenderness that a parent would use with his child. Scully's wondering was cut short and the fear took command, still her trained mind managed to somehow surface.

"Who are you? I'm a FBI agent, you can't..."

"Sssshhhh, I know all about you Dana Scully. God, those eyes of yours are so beautiful." He moved a hand to her face and traced it softly from her temple to her cheek and down to her chin.

"Don't touch me." Scully protested but he just looked at her and smiled. 

He closed his fist and extended his index finger pointing it at her. "I can do whatever I want with you." He elevated his eyes to the ceiling like realizing something, "I can do whatever I want with you." His voice more steady than the first time he had said it. "You know...," He said rising from the bed. "...you just gave me a damn good idea." Scully kept her eyes on him but her mind was on turbulence * Oh my God what did I say, what did I say? * Her kidnapper came back to her holding a syringe on his hand filled with a transparent liquid and settled himself beside her. "A damn good idea." He inserted the needle in her arm and then bent down and kissed her on the lips short but tenderly making him feel pleased, making her feel sick. 

*Mulder, please help...me* Was her last thought before she surrender to the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexandria Street

Mulder's Apart. Building

Wednesday, 2:30pm

The elevator doors opened and Mulder stepped into the lobby where he was greeted by three other agents. "Agent Mulder."

"What'ya got?" Mulder demanded to know. He was obviously the SAC of the investigation.

"Agents Leslie and Harrison are still checking on the last two floors but so far these two people have been identify as relatives of residents of this building." The agent said pointing at the photographs. 

"This boy however...," Said the other agent "doesn't seem to be known by anyone here."

Mulder looked at the boy in the photo like wishing he could tell him who he was. "Alright lets hit the streets, maybe somebody knows him..." 

"That seems like a long shot." Mulder was cut off by one of the agents. He moved towards him angrily.

"In case you weren't paying attention this is very important to me. An FBI agent's live, my partner's, is depending on this investigation. I don't care what you think or how much time it takes you, but you better get your ass out on the street and start looking for this boy. Have 

I make myself clear?" Mulder was towering over him now, imposing.

"Yes sir." The three agents were out the door within seconds. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FBI Headquarters

Basement Office

Wednesday, 6:45pm

Fox Mulder was at his desk lost in thought and upset. The whole situation was upsetting, but at least the search for the boy wasn't fruitless. A store clerk identified the boy. He told the agents that he almost always stopped by the store on his way from school. Unfortunately school was out by the time they came across this information. They would have to wait until the next day and that made him feel helpless. A knock on the door made him look up and just for a moment he hoped that it was Scully. That she would enter the office with her usual grace and her neat suit. With her red hair always in place, her blue eyes that were like a piece of heaven making him forget that he was in a basement. He wanted so bad to hear her say 'Mulder that's impossible' or 'You can't seriously pretend that I believe that' or even just to see her arch her eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Go home agent Mulder, there's nothing else you can do until tomorrow." A.D. Skinner's voice brought him back to reality and Mulder damned him for it. 

"I'll go but I want to finish this first."

"Finish what?" Mulder stood up and walked around his desk and then reclined on it crossing his arms over his chest. 

"This case has a familiar smell to it. I didn't see it before but now, the MO is the same."

"What MO? Are you saying we are dealing with a serial killer here?"

"Not yet." Skinner looked at him exasperated not following Mulder. 

"What the hell do you mean?"

"During my first year on the FBI as a field agent I was assigned to assist on a murder investigation. Charles Hampton was a serial killer and his MO was exactly like this man's. He kidnapped women and mutilated their bodies while they were still alive. He sent parts of the body to a husband or the parents."

"Was he arrested?"

"Yes and was sentenced to life. His lawyer claimed he was insane so he escaped the death penalty."

"Did he escape? He might be taking revenge against you." 

"I thought so too but that is not the case."

"Why..."

"He's dead. Hung himself two weeks ago in his cell."

"So, what we are dealing with here is..."

"...a copycat." Mulder finished for him. "That's what I'm working on. I've prepared a list of potential suspects with records on stalking, rape, mutilations and the like. Tomorrow I'm going to the school to pick up the boy to see if he can identify the man, assuming he was the one who delivered the letter." The phone started ringing interrupting their conversation. "Mulder."

"Why hello agent Mulder. Is it life as sweet as you thought it would be?" Mulder waved a hand to his boss indicating him to trace the call.

"Who is this?" 

"I am 'The Chef'."

"Where is agent Scully? What have you done with her?"

"You know where she is. She is here and she is there." Mulder remembered the hair and the finger and felt sick to his stomach. Mulder had a battle within him. His trained mind telling him what to say, his heart was shouting at him too and he listened to it. Mulder found himself asking mercy for his partner, for his friend, for his love. 

"Please don't harm her any more." 

"Are you begging agent Mulder? No need. I won't touch her tonight. Not like that anyway. I've decide to have a good time with her before I continue with the delicate art of slicing and dicing." The line went dead and deep inside of him so was Mulder. 

"I'm going to kill you you fucking bastard." Mulder was furious beyond words. He slammed the receiver on the desk over and over until Skinner's yell stopped him.

"555-3564,"

"What? "

"The trace on the call. He was calling from 555..."

"That's Scully's cellular. The scum was using her phone. We can't trace it. We can't help her. I can't."

"What did he mean by 'The Chef'?"

"That was Charles Hampton's handle." Mulder grabbed his coat from the chair and left. He couldn't bear to be there anymore, to be in the office he had shared with his partner who soon was going to suffer the consequences of his failure. He needed to go where his demons could consume him without witnesses or rescuers. He was going home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The sun was high and hotter than ever but here in these woods, protected by what seemed thousands of trees the air was cold. A dense fog was surrounding him. It was everywhere. He didn't know how he got there but it didn't matter; he needed to find it. At a distance he saw the cabin that looked like a modest refuge. A home away from home for 

some, but in this case it was a hide out, a place of horror. Within it walls, captured, mistreated and as scared as he was, waiting for salvation was she. Then, unexpectedly, she came into view with a beauty like no other. Her red hair spoke of fire, her white skin spoke 

of pureness, her blue eyes like a blue sky gave him tranquility. She saw him and her smile welcomed his presence prompting him to go to her as she did the same. They were mere inches apart when suddenly a man's arm pulled her away from his grasp. Her eyes that spoke of calm now were giving shouts of fear. He ran after them or so he thought, his feet were moving and yet going no where. He looked terrified as the man was taking her ever farther away.

He extended his arms like trying to reach her but they bumped into something, an invisible wall keeping him from saving her. He kept struggling, hitting it with his fists to the point of bleeding. Suddenly, the wall started to soften and he pushed through it like it was made of foam until he was on the other side just to find himself in total darkness. He could barely see his hand in front of his face. *What the hell is going on * He heard his name being called and turned around to see the man pushing her down on a bed, kissing her roughly and pulling at her clothes. She was helplessly trying to fight her attacker, she was pleading with him to go there and help her. Again he tried to run to her, he wanted to kill the son of a bitch for doing this to her but the wall was there again, stopping him like a huge evil vigilant. Now he was screaming her name at the top of his lungs but he couldn't hear himself, he could only hear her cries for help. He kept screaming until finally, the sound of his own voice, reached his ears. "Scully, noooooo..."

Mulder awoke panting only to find more darkness making the horror of the nightmare more real; and it was real. The fact that he wasn't able to stop it was eating him alive. Mulder went from the couch to the window and looked up to the stars. "Dana." Her name came in a whisper, the tears came in silence. Once she found her way back to him 

because she had the strength of his believes, maybe it was time that he had the strength of hers. Without taking his eyes from the dark sky Mulder felt on his knees and for the first time since that terrible night when his sister disappeared, he prayed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.....he wouldn't go without a fight. Some of them he could see, the others he could only imagine trying to sneak up on him.

"Hey, I'm going in. Cover me."

"No, I got it. I'll get him from behind."

"No damn it."

"You bastards." the killer opened fire....one of them not fast enough.....he laughed at his cry of pain....

"Freeze, FBI."

"Go to hell."....rising his gun....the agent fired first....

"Aaaaahhhhh!"

Somewhere in Virginia

Thursday, 5:15am

The house was in total darkness and the silence that reigned within it walls was momentarily interrupted by his harsh panting. He stood up from the armchair and walked to the wall to switch the light on, the woman on the bed being the first thing his eyes focused on. "It's time." He said regaining control of his breathing. The syringe and the knife rested on the dresser waiting to accomplish the task they have been prepared for several hours ago. Taking them he went to her very slowly feeling partly sad for her and partly excited because of what he was about to do. "Sorry love but I need your heart, but sshhh don't worry I don't want you to suffer, here...." He said to the unconscious 

woman and injected the clear substance of the syringe into her arm. A double dose. Perhaps an act of mercy among the horrors that he was capable of. "...I promise this is the last time." Some minutes passed before his victim's heartbeats were no more, but he waited by her side like guarding her last breaths. Parting the sides of her blouse to uncover her chest he lifted the knife into the air, disturbing the silence once again with the sounds of his despicable act.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FBI Headquarters' Lab

Thursday, 8:08am

The lab assistant was hard at work, something that never seemed to cease since crime never takes a break. He was looking around on the freezer for some samples that he needed to study when he noticed something odd. "Hey Sanders, is this freezer working fine?"

"It is as far as I know, why?" Agent Sanders asked from his seat in front of the microscope. 

"Because I think that finger is discomposing." At this agent Sanders rushed to the freezer not expecting to see what he saw.

"What the hell..."

Robert Black had never been inside the FBI Headquarters. Not even on a school tour. Still he was more worried than excited. The FBI agents had picked him up at school telling him that they needed him to help them with a possible murder investigation. Now he knew why he had had a bad feeling about the strange man, the guy was a criminal. He was however impressed with all the agents and their guns that showed now and again according to their clothes and their movements. He liked guns but he was only thirteen, it would be a long time before he could get his own. They took him to a quiet desk on the large office close to what 

looked like a display case of some sort with awards, plaques and pictures of important people, he guessed. 

"Alright Robert, like I told you before my name is agent Mulder and I'm in charge of this investigation. Now I know you told me when we first talk that a guy paid you to deliver the letter and I want you to understand that we are not accusing you of anything, but we really need you to help identify this man. Do you understand?" Mulder talked in a very soft voice trying not to frighten the boy.

"Yes." He responded understanding the seriousness of the situation.

"Here are the photos that I want you to look at. Take your time, I want you to be sure you picked the right guy." He said opening the album-like book and placing it in front of him. The boy looked immediately disgusted. "Would you like something to eat or to drink?" Mulder asked him trying to make the situation as casual as he could for the boy.

"No thanks, I'm ok." Planting himself next to him Mulder prepared mentally for the wait. There were plenty of photos and there was nothing else he could do.

Assistant Director's Office

Thursday, 11:21am

The Assistant Director was trying to concentrate on the report in front of him but his mind was on Mulder's investigation. The last time he called him the boy had almost finish looking at the photos but still no match. He was starting to think that they might never find 

Scully on time, if at all. His secretary knocked on the door once and entered followed by agent Sanders.

"Sir I'm sorry to interrupt you but you have to see this." The agent said before she could introduce him.

"What is it, agent Sanders?" He said dismissing his secretary with the wave of his hand. The file the agent handed him picked his interest as his brain took in what he was reading. "Did you show this to agent Mulder?"

"No, I came to you first." Skinner picked his phone and called Mulder.

"Yes, this is agent Helton"

"Agent Helton, where is agent Mulder?"

"He just went down to his office sir." 

"Alright." Skinner hanged up the phone and started walking out of the office prompting the other agent to follow him "Let's go."

The boy's neck was sore and his limbs were numb. He gave himself a break since agent Mulder wasn't hovering over him at the moment and decided to wander around a little bit. Now he was entertaining himself with the display case. 

"Agent Helton." He suddenly yelled calling all attention upon him.

"What is it kid?" Agent Helton asked rushing to him.

"I've found him." The agent went to look at the photos but was stopped by the boy. "No, not there, here." He said pointing at one photo on the display. "It's him." The agent's face went pale.

Mulder entered his office for the first time that day only 

to be slapped by an unpleasant smell. He spotted the source almost immediately; it was coming from a box on his desk. A black box, a 

black ribbon, a white note. Mulder didn't know how he got to the desk and yet there he was. He took the note not caring about fingerprints and realized that he was shaking and that his heart was already aching inside of him. Rather than reading the note the words assaulted his eyes.

'I wanted her to love me but she said her heart belonged to you so, there you go'.

The note fell from his trebling hands as he moved to open the box with desperation not wanting to believe in the terror he was about to face. The image of the heart served to chatter the composure he had left, all notion of place and time were lost and he gave into the insanity that somehow he had managed to fight until now. "Scully nooo, nooo, nooo. Scully, oh God no. I'm sorry, please I tried I swear. Oh God why? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The tears were flowing freely wetting his face and his shirt. In his rage he started to destroy his own office, files were falling all over the floor, a chair flew to the wall and now he was kicking the trash bucket with his foot and screaming at the same time. "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him Scully. Scuulleee, Scuuulleee."

"Mulder easy, easy. Settle down." Skinner said to the out of control agent grabbing him from behind trying to dominate him but Mulder kept screaming and now he was trying to fight his boss off. 

"Take your hands off of me. Don't you see, there, on my desk. He killed her and now I have to kill him, I have to kill that fucking son of a bitch."

"Mulder listen to me, it's not her. She is not dead, it's not her." Mulder felt destroyed inside, merely a shadow of the man he used to be, there was nothing left to give and yet life insisted on playing with him as if he was a rag doll.

"What?" He asked not realizing that he had said the word.

"It's not Scully. We've been deceived. Agent Sanders." Skinner prompted the agent who had stayed aside during the whole thing to come forward and explain.

"One of my colleagues noticed that the finger was discomposing, which 

was impossible considering it was in the freezer, but still the skin was falling apart and to my surprise, underneath it, there was skin and intact. I ran some tests of the "skin" that had fallen apart and it turned out to be some kind of latex mixture."

"What do you mean?" Mulder asked looking more alive.

"That a layer of false skin was fabricated along with agent Scully's fingerprint."

"Can that be done?" 

"Yes, but you have to know what you are doing. It's basically more or less the same techniques use on the movies to make somebody look older for example, only much more sophisticated, I mean you really have to know what you're doing. In light of this I ran the new fingerprint through the FBI computer records again and I was surprise to find a match but this time it wasn't agent Scully's fingerprint."

"Whose was it then?" The information was also new to the Assistant Director.

"Her name is Marsha O'Neil but she is not an FBI agent yet, she is......was supposed to start on the next academy at Quantico. I have her file right here." He said handling the file to Mulder. "And I also found out that she's been missing for six days. The Virginia police still have no clues of what has happened to her." The three men looked at each other in silence for a moment and then Skinner spoke.

"Sanders, take that away and make sure that it belongs to this Marsha woman." Skinner said pointing at the black box without looking at it. The agent did as told and left the office. At that moment the phone rang but Mulder didn't attempt to answer it, his mind was still trying to process the information that unexpectedly had given him a new hope.

"Yes, this is Skinner."

"Sir, this is agent Helton, the boy has identified the man."

"Good, we'll be right there." 

"Sir," The agent said rising his voice keeping the A.D. from hanging up "it's an FBI agent."

"What?!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mulder's Vehicle

On their way to Virginia

Thursday, 12:15pm

"Darren Hill was the SAC on the Charles Hampton case. During Hampton's 

arrest, agent Hill was shot on the back leaving him temporally paralyzed from the waist down. After several months of therapy he made almost a complete recovery though he couldn't go back to work on the field and was reassigned to work in the Lab at Quantico." Mulder recounted the events that he had left behind him years ago to the Assistant Director. Events that in time created a monster that had only one thing in mind, take revenge on him. "At the beginning he blamed me for what had happened but then he got over it, or so I thought."

"Why does he blame you?" Skinner asked.

"I was a rookie then, I guess I was anxious to see some action and broke the protocol leaving my position. Hill did the same to cover me and that's when Hampton opened fire. I was able to get behind him and he tried to take a shot at me but I was faster. Hill was depending on that arrest to get a promotion, instead he received a medal for bravery and a spot for his photo on a display. He blamed me but eventually accepted my apologies." Mulder paused thinking for a moment "He adopted Hampton's 

way of killing, kidnapped my partner which is a woman, started this whole thing a short time after Hampton's death. He really wants me to know why he is doing all of this and he probably knows we are hot on his tail by now, what are the odds that he'll be sitting at home waiting to be arrested. His plan is not over." Mulder looked at his boss, both sensing the danger involved in the unexpected specially when it came from the mind of a well trained psychopath with a vengeance. "I guess I'll have to learn not to offend anyone or apologize better." 

"He forgave but didn't forget." Skinner's phone rang and he answered it immediately. He listen for a moment and then spoke, "Alright we are on our way. Stay put until we get there." Mulder gazed at his boss waiting to be informed. "The swat team is in position." Pushing down the gas pedal Mulder accelerated the car breaking the speed limit further more.

Arlington Virginia

Thursday, 12:55pm

Even though the roof was hot under the afternoon sun the sharpshooter concentrated his attention on the house, moving his potent rifle from window to window trying to get a glimpse of the FBI agent turned criminal. Tension could be felt among the men who knew very well that the situation at hand could only have one outcome, the survival of Dana Scully.

Led by Mulder and Skinner the swat team charged into the house shouting and searching throughout the place. In a matter of seconds they had reached the second floor still searching for a sign of Darren Hill or Dana Scully, the last being the whole purpose of Mulder's search. 

"We have a victim here." Mulder moved towards the sound of his boss' voice not knowing what to expect but afraid just the same. "It's Marsha O'Neil." Skinner announced upon seeing Mulder's expression. A gasp escaped him at the sight of the murdered woman.

"Agent Mulder, over here." This time Mulder rushed to the other room followed by Skinner as the other agents made way for him. He came to a halt in front of the open door, the image of Scully the only thing he wanted to see, the only thing he was finally seeing. 

"Is she alive?" Skinner asked to the agent that had called them.

"She seems to be breathing sir." Everything stopped around Mulder. The sounds, the movements of the other agents, even the earth seemed to have stopped rotating, but inside him there was turbulence, heart pounding, head rushing, the high adrenaline level could be felt on every inch of his body. The seconds he took to access the scene in front of him seemed like an eternity. Finally he willed himself to move and close the distance that still kept them apart. But two steps he had taken when the change of the floor texture made him stopped and looked at what he had stepped on.

"The Fox has fallen on the trap, ain't that sweet." Everybody looked at the image of Darren Hill that appeared in a TV set that was activated by whatever Mulder had put his foot on. "If I were you I wouldn't move, unless you don't mind blowing all of your buddies in pieces." Skinner and Mulder looked at each other and then back at the television. "I'm sure you're wondering what is going on so let me explain." Hill said and then cleared his throat as if he was going to make a speech in front of an important audience. "What you are stepping on is a detonator. The bomb is under the bed where your beloved partner lies and belief me, there's enough C4 there to send you to the next galaxy. If you move off the detonator the bomb will go off, if you try to move your partner from the bed the bomb will also go off." Mulder was looking all around him as Hill spoke landing his gaze on Scully at his last remark. "Interesting isn't it, but the beautiful part is that you have about..." Hill checked his watch for a second "...a minute and a half to say your prayers because there's no chance in hell somebody will be able to disable the bomb in time. You see agent Mulder, I've learned a lot by working on a fucking lab." His laughter made Mulder feel sick to his stomach. Another agent entered the room carefully and looked under the bed as the expectation and the tension grew higher.

"He's right sir. Not even the memory of us will be left when this thing goes off." Getting to his feet he waited for instructions. 

"Skinner get every body out of here." There was no hope for him or Scully, there was no reason for the others to die too.

"Are you praying Mulder? Ha, ha, ha...." 

"Agent Mulder...."

"Get the hell out of here Skinner." 

"Tick, tick, tick. Only 50 seconds more and I'll be partying all night." Hill kept on teasing through the TV set.

"EVERYBODY OUT NOW!" The Assistant Director finally ordered, but stayed behind with Mulder. "Agent Mulder..." His voice faded, he couldn't find the words and there was no time. One mutual nod the last goodbye between the two of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen the final count down stars now with 10, 9, 8..." Mulder looked at Scully ignoring Darren Hill's voice completely. In the last seconds of one's life they say you can see your whole life pass in front of your eyes but in his mind Mulder refused to let the demons that had tortured him all his life steal his last moments. The only thing he wanted to see, he wanted to feel or remember was Dana Scully. She had made him feel important, had made him believe that life was worth living, she was the only truth he had ever found, she had made him feel loved. * Scully I'm sorry * 

"...7, 6, 5..."

"I love you." He knew she couldn't hear him but he dare not die without telling her.

"...4, 3, 2..." Mulder shut his eyes and waited for the intense explosion that was going to end it all.

"...1, Boom!!!" Silence. Suddenly Mulder was aware that Darren Hill's laughter was filling the room again. "I had you Mulder. Ha, ha, ha..." Mulder opened his eyes surprised that he was still there, glad that Scully was still there, failing to understand what had happened. "Know 

this Mulder, I'm no longer 'The Chef' I am 'The Deceiver' and I just had you big time. Ha, ha, ha..." Finally reacting Mulder went to Scully and picked her up not wanting to take any chances leaving Hill's voice behind which had fallen on a repetitive chant. "I had you, I had you, I had you, I had you, I had you..." 

Outside the house the expecting group of agents were wondering about the explosion that never took place and debating whether or not was safe for them to go back inside. The sight of Mulder coming out of the house with Scully in his arms made the decision for them.

"Get the ambulance over here now." Skinner barked to the nearest agent moving towards Mulder at the same time. "Agent Mulder what happened?"

"The bomb was an hoax. He's probably watching us from some where as we speak."

"I'll send a team to search the area. Is she ok?"

"I don't know." At that moment the paramedics arrived taking Scully from Mulder and started working on her. "Is she going to be ok?"

"Her vitals are dangerously low. We have to get her to the hospital." 

"Which hospital?"

"North George Town." The paramedic answer and shut the door on Mulder's face, the ambulance took off immediately. Mulder looked back at the house and let out some angry curses.

"Mulder, you found her. It's over." Skinner found himself looking directly at Mulder's eyes seeing in them fury like before but without the fear.

"It won't be over until I get him." Skinner knew what 'get him' meant but decided to put that argument to rest before it even started. He knew Mulder, 'by the book' wasn't in his vocabulary, specially when it came to Scully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

North George Town

University Hospital

Friday, 8:08am

The intensity of the emotions he had been feeling the last few days was almost too much for him to bear. He had gone to hell and back and he hurt, so much indeed to the point of loosing his mind, his own identity. Why would he believe in what his eyes had been looking at for the last sixteen hours, was it real? Was she really there in front of him resting peacefully, safe. Mulder took her hand again, it was the only way for him to make sure he wasn't dreaming and once again was 

rewarded with the warmth and the softness of her skin. He smiled although thought he had forgotten how but her presence was filling him with a new light, he felt alive again.

"Hey." Came her voice weak but happy to see him by her side.

"Hey yourself." His smile widened. 

"Where's mom?" Scully said looking around the room.

"I sent her to get something to eat. She wouldn't leave your side."

"And when was the last time you ate something Mulder?" She asked

noticing his not so healthy appearance.

"I've eaten Scully."

"Today Mulder?" There it was her arched eyebrow questioning him, even

when at times have been exasperating now was the most beautiful thing he

had ever seen. She was the one on a hospital bed and yet she was trying to take care of him. That was so Scully, how much he had missed her.

"Dana I..."

"Dana, you're awake!" Mrs. Scully entered the room happy to be able to talk to her daughter again, but soon realized that she had walked in the middle of something by the look on Mulder's face.

"Hi mom."

"Hi honey." She bent and kissed her and then smiled at Mulder, an awkward silence fell upon the three. "Oh, you need ice." Margaret Scully grabbed the jar from the night stand and started for the door, "I'll go get you some ice." And with that she was out of the room. * Oh that's nice Mrs. Scully, you were my excuse to keep me from doing something that is most likely to be inappropriate and you leave. And now I suppose you expect me to thank you *

"Mulder?"

"Hmm?"

"What were you going to say?"

"I was going to ask you how were you feeling." Scully had the feeling that that wasn't it but decided to let it go.

"I'm fine Mulder." Mulder couldn't help but smile at her patented answer.

"What?!"

"If I had a nickel for every time you have said that even though some times hasn't exactly been the truth."

"It is the truth."

"I know, I talked to your doctor. The irony." They smiled at each other for a while until Mulder's face grew serious. " He also told me that aside from drugging you he didn't...I mean... "

"I know Mulder." Gazing intensely at her he reached out and took her in a warm embrace, she returned the gesture. Mulder deposited a soft kiss in her forehead and then let go of her reluctantly. "Dana I..." Once again Mrs. Scully entered the room, but without the ice. The ice machine was empty and she had started to feel rather silly wandering around the hospital floor trying to give him time. * Mrs. Scully you are "killing" me * "...got to go"

"Thanks for coming Mulder and go eat something." Scully said half

suggesting and half commanding.

"Yes ma'am, I'll see you later."

"Good bye Fox." Mrs. Scully saw her daughter looking and smiling at her but she knew that her mind had gone with Mulder. She understood. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mulder's Office

Saturday, 2:15pm

Fox Mulder was sitting at his desk, which couldn't hold another file. He's been reading, phoning and thinking about every possibility that could lead him to Darren Hill. Although more rested and without the huge consternation of not knowing Scully's whereabouts and well-being, he was still hard at work trying to get a hold of the man who literally made him experience hell alive. The knock on the door diverted his attention. 

"Agent Mulder?" The young agent called from the office's door shyly.

"Did you find something?" Mulder asked inviting him in with the wave of his hand.

"Yes, I think I did."

"Well?"

"As you asked, I investigated all of Darren Hill activities within the FBI. Where he was working, when he was working and on what. Any extraordinary resources that he might had asked for..."

"I get the point, did you find something?" Mulder asked a little exasperated.

"Well, you know how you can get special loans through the bureau for real state transactions? I was looking at that list and..."

"Don't tell me that he bought property through the bureau." Mulder's eyes widened with the idea of finally having a lead to follow.

"No sir, his name wasn't on the list, but according to it, you did."

"What?" 

"Here it is, see for yourself." The agent handed the list to Mulder who incredulously looked for his own name.

"It is a damn game to him." His words were like a whisper as if he was talking to himself.

"Sir?"

"Hill knew I'd come across this information sooner or later. He wants me to find him, he wants me to fall in his trap." He said matter of fact.

"So what are you going to do?" 

"Inform Skinner and get a swat team ready. We are going after him."

"And I'm going with you." Both Mulder and the other agent swung around at the sound of her voice. 

"Scully, what are you doing here? You should be at home resting."

"I'm fine Mulder." Mulder made an attempt to open his mouth, but Scully stopped him. "Don't even think about it." 

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, I'm off to A.D. Skinner's office to tell him what we found." 

"We'll be right there." Scully responded for the both of them, but Mulder was staring at her looking for some sign of weakness or illness that he could use as an excuse to leave her behind not wanting her to get hurt.

"Are you sure you're up to this Scully?"

"Yes I am. Besides, I have a matter to settle with this guy." Mulder looked at her questioningly, "He cut my hair." Scully started walking towards the door but felt rather than saw that Mulder hadn't move a muscle. "Move it Mulder. Let's see if those long legs of yours can get you somewhere." Mulder could feel her smiling at her own remark. This was his Scully. Brave, strong, willing, beautiful, alive. * She is back * he thought smiling to himself.

"MULDER!" * Oh yes, this is Scully alright * Without glancing back he left. 

Winchester Virginia

Hill's Hideout 

Saturday, 3:22pm

"Agents." Mulder and Scully were regarded by Assistant Director Skinner and the swat team leader.

"Is he in?" Mulder asked not wanting to waste any time.

"We checked the car parked in front of the house and it is Darren Hill's. My men just took their positions on the roofs in front and back of the house. Let's see what they've got." The swat leader took the radio off his shoulder and spoke on it. "Eagle one have you established visual contact? Over."

"Affirmative sir. The suspect is on the living room. Over." 

"What is he doing? Over."

"He is just sitting there, sir. I think he is watching TV. Over."

"Watching TV? What is this guy up to?" The agent said more like a general wonder than a question.

"Ask him if he sees somebody else." Mulder had a feeling in his gut that this wasn't going to end well.

"Eagle one, is there somebody else with him? Is he armed? Over."

"He appears to be alone but I can't see if he has a weapon. Over."

"Eagle two, what can you see? Over."

"I don't have a clear view of the inside but I got the back covered. Over"

"All right agent Mulder, it's your call." The swat leader waited for instructions.

"Let's go in." The four of them plus two more agents made their way to the porch of the house quickly. Mulder counted down with his fingers from three to one and the first agent burst through the door followed by the rest of them all weapons drawn.

"FBI, on the ground, on the ground!" They reached the living room but came to a halt impressed with what they had encountered. Mulder moved forward a couple of steps accessing the room, the turmoil on his head could be seen in his eyes. The television was on, the room was hot, the weapon was on the floor next to the armchair and the man's brains were 

all over the place. Scully looked at Mulder, but he was still searching the room with his eyes like waiting for an explanation to jump at him. 

"I'll go call the coroner." Skinner announced as he left the room.

"Mulder?" Scully ventured trying to get her partner back from wherever he was.

"This doesn't make sense Scully."

"The man killed himself Mulder and there's no..."

"Why, why would he do that? Does this make sense to you Scully?" He was talking to her but looking intensely at the floor. At this point one of the swat men moved towards the body.

"NOOOO!" Mulder shouted to him but it was too late. The man had walked through the red beam of light that was hardly perceivable and soon all of them could hear the beeps that were coming from somewhere in the house.

"Out, out, every body out. It's a bomb, run!" They had barely reached the stairs when the first explosion came knocking them down on the dirt almost one in top of the other. The rest of the agents that were outside turned around at the sound of the explosion and saw the black and red cloud going skywards and the flames that were starting to devour the property. Mulder recovered from the shock rather quickly, and realizing they were still too close to the danger, pulled Scully to her feet almost lifting her and they started running again only to be knocked down by a second blast. This time Mulder decided to stay down and covered Scully almost completely with his body to protect her from the debris that had started falling around them. A third blast, though less furious followed only seconds after the second leaving the rest of the destruction to the flames.

"Get the firefighters here now!" Walter Skinner ordered to no one in particular. "Are you two all right?" he asked with genuine concern as 

he approached Mulder and Scully. Mulder didn't answer but echoed the

question to Scully.

"Scully are you ok?" He grabbed her by the arm and helped her to her feet once again.

"Yes, you?" Mulder just nodded his head and soon turned it to watch the flames burning the house to the ground.

"He killed himself and tried to take us with him. That way he wouldn't have to face justice and he would have had his revenge on you." Scully knew he was listening even though he appeared to be far away.

"Good thing you got out of there in time." Skinner added, but again Mulder didn't speak. Suddenly with a harsh movement he turned around and started to leave ignoring Scully who was calling his name.

"Mulder, where are you going?" Scully and Skinner saw him leave and then looked at each other neither saying a word. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mulder's Apartment

Later that day

Mulder could hear his phone ringing from the hallway and increased his already rapid pace. He entered his apartment and answered it interrupting his own voice from the answering machine.

"Mulder it's me."

"Hey Scully."

"Where were you? I've been trying to reach you all afternoon."

"What for?"

"To tell you the truth I was worried. The way you left, you were so mad.

Look Mulder, I understand that you are disappointed ..."

"Disappointed? Mad? No Scully I'm furious. The bastard killed himself, after all he put me through after all he put you through I wanted to have the chance to kill that piece of shit myself."

"Well..." Mulder froze when the man appeared from out of no where

pointing a gun at him. "...perhaps now you'll have your chance."

"Mulder who was that, who's there with you?" Darren Hill could hear 

Scully's worried voice through the phone.

"Hang up the phone Mulder." Mulder did as told. "I suppose I don't have

much time now." he said nodding at the phone.

"Aren't you suppose to be dead? What, you came back from the death to 

kill me?"

Hill let out a little laugh. "That was the whole point. First step was to make you suffer like I did when because of you all the dreams that I had, my career, everything was taken away from me. All those months

on a wheelchair, all these years working on a fucking lab when I could've been on the field profiling criminals, putting them behind bars. I could have been an A.D. by now if not for you; because of you and your damn impetuosity. It was my case, it was my profile..." He took a moment to calm himself. "...and now is step two, you die."

"Freeze, FBI. Don't move." Said Scully bursting through the door followed by Walter Skinner. Darren Hill gazed at them in disbelief and then back at Mulder who was also aiming a gun at him.

"Don't be stupid Hill, drop the gun." Skinner warned him.

"Where the hell did you come from? You were just on the phone, you are suppose to be home." He said to Scully lowering the gun to his side but not dropping it. 

"No, actually she was on the third floor." Mulder explained catching his

attention. 

"You knew I was coming?"

"After the firefighters put out the fire Scully ran some tests. After all your deceptions we needed to be sure and we had our answer in no

time. Ain't that right partner?"

"What can I say, I'm good at what I do." Scully replied grinning at 

Hill.

"Yeah, she's good with corpses. You deceived us so...."

"...you deceived me." Hill completed the sentence almost with a

defeated voice unlike Mulder's which had a satisfaction tone to it.

"I had you."

"Nooooo.." The gun that have been resting by his side was risen and

aimed at Mulder in a blink of an eye, but almost as if life itself was

playing the irony card on him, Mulder fired first, repeating the history

that had shaped the now dead agent's destiny years ago. Scully walked

to Mulder placing a caring hand on his shoulder, but for some strange

reason, he couldn't take his eyes off of the dead man. Skinner crouched 

next to the body looking for a pulse finding none. 

"He's dead." He announced stating what was obvious for Mulder and 

Scully. Mulder looked at him with a totally new countenance as if a transformation had just occurred inside of him.

"Now it's over." And also now was time to heal.

The night was silent, peaceful and adorned by sparkling stars that seemed to be looking down at her as she was looking up at them. Dana Scully spent most of the night at Mulder's apartment talking and accompanying him until his body surrender to the most needed rest. She was thinking about the anguish, the pain and the struggle that he went through the last few days and she knew in her heart that she had in him not only a partner, that he wasn't just a friend. He was more that she could ever hope for or expected since their crusade started. He would never leave her, he would never hurt her, would never give up on her. Scully took her gold cross between her hands and closed her eyes. Tonight the prayers would be for him.

The End 

Please send feedback! Thanks.

   [1]: mailto:tashe075@yahoo.com



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